Spellbound

Here I present the second part of the Odissi dance Spellbound performed by Sutra Dance Theatre, Malaysia at Alva’s Virasat 2012. Spellbound, consisted of five Odissi compositions originally choreographed by Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, rearranged into group compositions by Ramli. The five items were Mangalacharan – Saraswati Vandana, Mukhari Pallavi, Ashta Shambhu, Oriya abhinaya – Kadamba bane banshi and Aditya Archana. In my first part of photos I had covered Mangalacharan – Saraswati Vandana, Mukhari Pallavi and Ashta Shambhu. Here I present other two compositions namely Oriya abhinaya – Kadamba bane banshi and Aditya Archana.

Spellbound

Spellbound

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Spellbound

Spellbound

I had a great opportunity to witness and document Odissi dance Spellbound performed by Sutra Dance Theatre, Malaysia at Alva’s Virasat 2012. Alva’s Virasat is a national level cultural program held every year at Shobhavana, Mijar.

Spellbound

Last year Ramli Ibrahim and his Sutra Dance Theatre group had performed at Alva’s Virasat 2011 with Vision of Forever Odissi performance. I had watched that performance only on TV and unable to capture photographs due to my busy schedule that day. So this year not to miss I kept all my work aside and attended, I am really glad about it as it was truly enthralling performance. I was able to capture over 500 good photos of the performance. I am trying to present select 27 photos in this part and others in the next part next week. Selecting them and reducing from such a large number to these few was a bigger task for me than taking those photos

Spellbound

Spellbound

I also had the opportunity to try out new Adobe Lightroom 4 beta which was released to public two days back. All these photos are processed using that software. It adds 2 more modules to the existing 5 modules, namely the photo book creator and the Google map for GPS location editing. There is a new white balance brush, develop modules are extensively revamped. All these changes in Lightroom made these photos much more processable. I was having a real tough time to get the color cast off due to varied color lights used in the dance. That variation is minimized due to the improvement in Lightroom 4. I will write an extensive review soon on the improvements in the Lightroom 4 in my future blog.

Spellbound

Spellbound

The name Ramli Ibrahim is synonymous with his Malaysia based Sutra Dance Theatre which has never failed in providing surprising, thought-provoking and often exciting Odissi dance recitals. Ramli Ibrahim himself is also synonymous with the invariable production of a strong original repertoire. An imaginative, sensitive and accomplished dancer himself, Ramli always attempts to break new ground in Odissi and this particular programme named Spellbound obviously had the same objective.

Spellbound

Spellbound

Spellbound, is billed as A tryst with the timeless beauty of Odissi… and consisting of five Odissi compositions originally choreographed by Guru Durga Charan Ranbir, rearranged into group compositions by Ramli. The five items were Mangalacharan – Saraswati Vandana, Mukhari Pallavi, Ashta Shambhu, Oriya abhinaya – Kadamba bane banshi and Aditya Archana. The presentation of all the items was good and in parts, even arresting, as expected of Sutra Dance Theatre. In my first part of photos I present the first 3 items namely Mangalacharan – Saraswati Vandana, Mukhari Pallavi and Ashta Shambhu.

Spellbound

Spellbound

The female dancers were notably good – their grace and sureness speaks well of their abilities as solo dancers too. For me this was heartening. The only slightly odd feature that stood out was the lower limb movements of the male dancers. Their legs moved with a degree of effeminacy, as also the exaggerated feminine swaying of the hips – beyond a degree this becomes uncalled for in a male dancer. Ramli’s dancing was obviously outstanding; his rich experience and aesthetic sense brought out an inner ecstasy, the joy in the persona of the dancer that is so fulfilling. In comparison, Guna – the other male dancer – gave a rather dull display. The power and depth which Guna is capable of and has demonstrated previously in his last years performance, was missing here, inexplicably.

Spellbound

Spellbound

An added issue for me was the execution of the Mukahri Pallavi, specifically Guna’s role in it. The character that Guna represented could not be communicated to the audience; it certainly left me confused and in spite of a plethora of movements and poses by this dancer, the message just did not get across. A misfortune, specially when the lucidity of a choreograph fails to fulfill its function! It is also clear that Odissi, derived from one of the most ancient forms of Indian dance, has a vast grammar. It does not need to be embellished by ballet movements to heighten its aesthetic appeal.

Spellbound

Spellbound

It is refreshing to see Suthra group was not using the stitched costume. Even though Ramli’s team has been criticized for skipping the oudhni (veil) worn by female dancers, I found the costume worn by them perfectly suitable for these dances without being vulgar. However, the absence of the taitha (Armlet) was glaring; this particular ornament adds much grace and appeal to the feminine form and I am wondering why the female dancers chose to do away with it!

Spellbound

Spellbound

Ramli Ibrahim, Guna were the two male dancers.The female dancers were Shivagamavalli, Geethika Sree, Michelle Chang, Abiramavalli, Thrisherna, Jyotsna and Shobhna Kumari Bag. Special mention must be made of Sivagamavalli and Geethika Sree, who were easily a cut above the rest.

Spellbound

Spellbound

Ramli Ibrahim has done commendable service to Odissi classical dance and its spread in South East Asia and many parts of the world. His fascination with Odissi has added a touch of exactitude to his inspired performances and thought provoking choreography. The future beckons with even greater promise, and I extend profound good wishes to him on the journeys ahead.

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Somanathpura Front View

During my last trip around Mysore I wanted to explore Chennakeshava temple of Somanathapura. I was traveling light with just Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens on Canon EOS 7D. being 1.6x crop camera it was not really giving me the ultra wide view but a normal zoom view of 25-56 mm at f/2.8. I also had my 70-200mm in case I wanted to shoot tele. I also carried 1.4x tele-converter with which I can extend my reach to 340mm range. This is my compact travel setup. Since it was a family holiday trip I did not want my photography overburdening them.

Somanathpura Front View

Somnathpura is a scaled down version of the magnificent and grandiose Chennakeshava temple at Belur. It is serene, uncrowded, under rated, and very well maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Somanathpura Side view

The most stunningly carved stone temple dedicated to Keshava was built here in A.D.1268, by Somanatha Dandanayaka, an illustrious General of the Hoysala king Narasimha III (1254 – 1291 A.D.). The village is hence named Somnathpura after the general.A stone tablet stands inside the temple main gate contain inscriptions in ancient Kannada script containing details of about the construction of the temple as well as details of grants for maintenance.

Somanathpura Sculptures

It is the one of the grandest temples of Hoysala architecture and apart from a shrine dedicated to Lord Keshava, there are two more shrines on either side of Keshava shrine dedicated to Venugopala and Janardhana. The three shrines together are known as Trikutachala and are interconnected. Even though it resembles other famous Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebid, this is the only major Hoysala temple with intact Vimana left. Both the temples of Belur & Halebid had lost that.

Somanathpura Sculptures

Somnathpur is 32 kms from the Bangalore – Mysore highway main road (SH 18), one has to take a left turn driving from Bangalore towards Mysore (Signboard is there stating the name and distance) the road condition is average; narrow with thin traffic and occasional patches of potholes and unmettaled portions. From Mysore, take the Bannur road. Somnathpura is less than 10km from Bannur. It should take just a half hour from Mysore.

Intricately Designed Pillars

The east facing temple stands out like a marvel against the backdrop of an ordinary village. It stands on middle of a walled compound encircled by a verandah with 64 cells which once housed 64 idols which were transported by British to their museum during their rule. Now Archaeological Survey of India is restoring these structures which are in a dilapidated state.

Intricately Designed Pillars

The temple is a piece of exquisitely carved architecture on stone, the garden around the temple is pretty well maintained. The outside walls of the main temple is covered with intricately carved out figures in stone, scenes from Ramayanas, Krishnas life, Vishnu, Narasimha with Lakshmi, incarnations of Vishnu, Goddesses like Lakhsmi and Saraswati, scenes of daily life people, Scenes of war, riding on horse & elephant. There are 194 images in all and around 40 of them have been carved by master sculptor Mallitamma. The other sculptors who worked in this temple were Ballayya, Chaudayya, Bharmayya, Kamayya and Nanjayya etc. These are the very few Indian examples of signature of sculptors on these sculptures.

Janardhana

The stone used for temple is chlorite schist which is a type of soft variety of soapstone. Soapstone is largely composed of the mineral talc and rich in magnesium. A unique property of soapstone very useful in making sculptures is that it is initially soft when under the ground and hardens gradually over the years when exposed to the atmosphere. Therefore, during the time of building the temple, fresh soapstones were used to ease the carving process. They hardened in course of time.

Venugopala

The Temple is built up on a raised platform consisting of a 36-pointed star base. The outer walls are divided into different layers the lower layer contains the scenes of daily life like people riding elephants etc while the middle ones contains exquisitely curved gods and goddesses. Some of these idols are damaged (like broken arms etc). The three garbha grihas / sanctum sanctorum have carved Vimana or towers. The grilled windows are carved intricately in stone and the outer wall has panels of elephants, plants, flower creepers, gods and goddesses, scenes depicting Ramayana and Mahabharatha. All the three shrines have a 16 pointed stellate (star-shaped) design and their towers follow the same pattern. Hence the whole structure looks like a rhythmic progression of well decorated projections and recesses. The number of points make the towers look circular.

Ceiling Depictions Of Banana Bud Motifs

In side the main temple there are three sanctums of Keshava, Janardhana and Venugopala. The Main Idol of Keshava is missing and replaced by another Vishnu idol of Hoysala style from nearby village. The idols have been made very beautifully with immense attention on ornaments, body posture and other aspects. These are one of the very few sculptures in the whole temple that have their noses intact. A sad but common feature seen in the temple is that the noses of most of the forms have been chipped out by the invaders during the 1311 A.D and 1326 A.D muslim invasions. It is said that their plan was to render the temple an inactive one because generally Hindu deities which have been damaged are not worshiped. Hence no pooja is performed in the temple. Even the animal forms have not been spared by the invaders. Trunks of elephant etc. which show power have also been truncated.

Ceiling Depictions Of Sacred Knot

The inner hall has carved designed pillars and a beautiful ceiling. The ceilings, the pillars, the doors and the idols are exquisitely carved and a sight to behold. The pillar outside the temple is a huge lamp post which used to guide neighboring villagers about the location of the temple more like a light house beacon.

Star platform

There is a red little post box hanging on a big tree in side the temple campus with a notice that the letters posted there will get a special cancellation mark of the temple.

Intricate Sculptures

Travel tips: Reach early to the temple so that you can avoid loads of tourists who land there at around 10AM onwards. Also the sun heats up the rock and walking barefooted is painful or wear thick socks as one has to leave his shoes outside the main gate. Carry torchlight for viewing the designs inside the temple.

Vimana

Intricate Side panels

Intricate Sculptures

Intricate Sculptures

Grilled windows are carved intricately in stone

Somanathpura Gopuram

Somanathpura Gopuram

Vishnu with Signature of Sculptor